she’s an old lightolier – i found it back in march, and no lie, i had just put it back in the car last week to bring to a lamp shop here in town to figure out how the heck to put a lampshade on it. i had picked up a nice little shade at ikea, but didn’t have a clue as to attaching it and figured someone could help me there. i also had another little thrifted lamp i bought a shade for as well and needed help in attaching.

so, of course, the day i popped into the lamp store, the guy in charge of dealing with old lamps was on his lunch break and out of the store. since i had a million other things to do, i took his business card and went on my way. and of course i never called back and of course i’ve been traveling around town with these lamps in my car ever since. well, apparently i’ve been putting out “lamp energy vibes.” after getting out of the movie, “food, inc.,” naturally i stopped by the local goodwill before going home (a must-see movie, by the way. well, i was fascinated due to my food allergies. it’s sad, infuriating, disgusting, informative. part of me is thankful (?) for my ridiculous food allergies in that my diet is basically a healthy/organic one, save for those cocktails and occasional bags of chips.)

but back to lamps. so, i’m in the goodwill lamp section and i’m just looking at lamps and their sockets and figuring out what kind of socket that little wooden lamp would need to house the shade i bought for it. and then all of a sudden i see THIS LAMP:another vintage lightolier WITH A SHADE!!!! (the shade is plastic.) i couldn’t believe my luck! i mean, this isn’t one of those items i see over and over again in my travels.

how the shade attaches

i can tell you right now they don’t sell harps like this at home depot. and so i put the shade and harp attachment on the orange tulip lightolier: here it is in action. puts out a nice GLOW.

but then i put the shade back on the boring tan/brown light, and when the lamp is turned on, again, there’s this nice amber glow and the lamp is quite handsome.great. i like ’em both. choices, choices.

still need to figure out what to do with the little wooden lamp. i’m sure it’s just a matter of changing out the socket. stay tuned.

thrifting planetary alignment this month seems to have me finding good bargains on rosti.

yup, here i go talking spatulas again. but i’ve never had the good fortune to snag a rosti utensil holder before and *yay* now i’ve got one. it’s a rosti party.

also found some cute drink accessories, namely these swedish coasters –

and i hate to buy anything when i don’t know anything about the product, but i blindly splurged and spent 4 bucks on this big alessi stainless steel bowl. i liked the shape of it. reminded me of danish design, yet it is made in italy. and apparently they’re quite expensive to buy new. who pays $100-$200 for a bowl in real life? i couldn’t find this exact bowl on the alessi website, but i like the shape of mine better than anything they’re selling now. score another one for ME.

tried a new beer today made from sorghum and rice extract. new grist beer. it didn’t tickle my fancy the wayredbridgedid, but i must stress, it’s not bad. it’s lighter and less hearty than redbridge.

little tea time snack plate –

i realize the food i eat must look unappetizing as all get out. but trust – it’s truly tasty. or maybe i’m just used to it. olive tapenade, rice crackers, soy crisps, and an ice cold beer in a really cute glass opened with a bird/seal/what-exactly-is-that danish bottle opener. what’s happier than this happy hour for anyone who’s allergic to (almost) everything?

picked this up because 1.) there was a foreign word written on it, 2.) it was under a dollar, and 3.) it appeared handmade/handpainted. i didn’t know what “säter” meant. i assumed “water” since the spelling was so close, and it was a pitcher after all. i assumed wrong. apparently this is probably just a souvenir pitcher fromthe municipality of säter in sweden? nice color combos.

also picked up the white vase, has an old “made in japan” sticker on the bottom. you can always use an extra smart-looking white vase, right? for all those bouquets of flowers all those suitors bestow on me.

and oh yah, i’ve oiledthe mobelintarsia table. it’s not perfect, but it’s an improvement over the condition i found it in.

some folks like to rescue a stray animal. me? i can’t be responsible for another living creature. but today i decided to rescue a table at goodwill. now, some like a painted piece of furniture. with decoupage. and i’ll fess up. even i’ve been known to decoupage a chair or stool or lampshade or picture frame back in the day. but never anything of value. strictly junk. a discarded chair here. a cheap lampshade there. it was the 90s. it’s what you did. you decoupaged. mod podge was your friend.

and so today i found this:

bad, right?

i laughed to myself and rolled my eyes, as i instantly became nostalgic about my mod podge days. but then, as i was walking away from that craft beauty, i took notice of the table’s shape and said, “wait a minute, wait a minute – i like the shape of that table.” i picked it up, turned it over, and – it’s tough to read – but i saw “made in denmark.” did someone get all crafty and mod-podgy with a teak danish modern table??? if so, i think this could be teetering on criminal.

IS THAT A BALLET SHOES STENCIL????

now, please, i may have been guilty of going overboard with some decoupage, but i never was a tacky stencil gal. (was i?) and i’m not sure i get the connection. a 50’s diner and ballet shoes? anyway, i’ve got a summer project now. bought a can of paint stripper and can’t wait to see what’s hidden beneath the paint and decoupage. i have NO CLUE how to refinish a teak table – i’m sure there’s danish oil involved. is that it? stripping, sanding, oiling? i’ll have to bone up. stay tuned…

and oh yah, found this too. for next to nothing. selandia norway pewter bud vase.

i love it when the goodwill pricers don’t know what they’ve got. (and those toy soldiers in back – that was holed up in some dime store frame. i took the frame apart, me being the clever detective i am, and lo and behold, vintage handmade-in-denmark greeting card.) out of the store in under 2 bucks.

found this vintage travel alarm clock yesterday. love the numbers typography. and the RED. but seriously – time really is ticking away for me. i only have about 3 months to find a house to qualify for my 8 grand tax rebate. your closing has to be by december 1, 2009 and realistically, i just don’t think i’m going to find a house in these next few months. too much competition out there for me. like i keep saying, i’m not giving up hope yet, but the housing inventory in my neck of the woods looks bleak(ish.) and i’m not going to buy a piece-of-crap house just to buy a house. but don’t hold me to that.

in the middle of a long day of drudgery yesterday (moving stuff into storage,) i popped into the local thrift store for some mental relief. again – found more house related items:

cottage by the sea paint-by-number

swedish cottages needlepoint

johnson bros farmhouse chic plate

c’mon. it’s GOT to be some sort of omen, right? maybe i’m supposed to move to sweden and live in a cottage on the water and do swedish massage. lord knows i love the design there. there would be that little problem of not knowing the language, though.

strawberry mojito in a wicked vintage glass

capped my evening off with one of these. a strawberry mojito. had my first one ever the other night after meeting a friend for a bite to eat and a refreshing summer beverage at olio. i’d never even heard of a strawberry mojito before , but i was feeling adventurous. i always have fun there, but indulge me for a moment…what is it with me and PEOPLE? i will never understand people. not much of a crowd at the bar when we met there (it was past the dinner hour.) we chose to sit at the far corner.

small u-shaped bar at olio

the one girl left, the couple moved to a table to eat dinner, and once again, lori and i cleared out a bar like nobody’s bidness. the bar is completely empty now when in walks a couple. and where do they choose to sit in completely empty bar with, oh, i dunno, a dozen seats from which to choose?

honest to goodness, it’s unnerving and uncomfortable. no buffer zone. this is the sort of thing that usually happens to me at the movie theater (see here and here.)

whatever. i managed to make a “boundary” of sorts using my eyeglasses case and bulky set of keys in between me and the girl. apparently my laws-of-attraction quality was in overdrive yet again. of course it’s always in stall mode when a single, good-looking man with a personality comes around. wait….does that EVER happen? is there even such a thing? at this point i don’t even CARE about the good-looking. give me single with a personality. i say, “no such thing.”